The world’s five richest men have doubled their fortune since 2020: Oxfam

According to an Oxfam analysis, the world’s top five richest people have more than double their fortune since 2020, while five billion people throughout the world have gone poorer. Oxfam’s annual inequality report which was released just before the start of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland said that the world’s five richest men — Tesla CEO Elon Musk, French luxury mogul Bernard Arnault, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and American tycoon Warren Buffett — have increased their fortunes by 114% to $869 billion, three times faster than the rate of inflation.

World will see its first trillionaire in a decade

Over the same period, the total wealth of the world’s poorest five billion individuals, who account for 60% of the global population, fell by 0.2% in real terms. Furthermore, it said that if current trends continue, the world will see its first trillionaire in a decade, yet poverty will not be abolished for another 229 years.

Seven out of ten of the world’s top public firms have either a billionaire CEO or a billionaire as their primary shareholder. Oxfam reports that the wealthiest 1% owns 43% of the world’s financial assets. In the United States, this 1% holds 32% of the financial wealth, 50% in Asia, and 48% in the Middle East, with 47% in Europe.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and numerous other businesses, increased his fortune by 737% since March 2020, reaching $245.5 billion by the end of November.

Bernard Arnault, chairman of the French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, and his family increased their net worth by 111%, to $191.3 billion.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ fortune is $167.4 billion, up 24%, while Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s wealth is $145.5 billion, up 107%.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO and investor Warren Buffett increased his net worth by 48% to $119.2 billion.

According to a study by Oxfam, “Corporate power is used to drive inequality: by squeezing workers and enriching wealthy shareholders, dodging taxes, and privatising the state.”

According to the report, “Around the world, members of the private sector have relentlessly pushed for lower rates, more loopholes, less transparency, and other measures aimed at enabling companies to contribute as little as possible to public coffers.”

Corporate taxes in OECD nations have declined dramatically, from 48% in 1980 to 23.1% in 2022, as reported by Oxfam.

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